General Engineer (Direct hire)
What you'd do
This position is located in ANG-1 Assistant Administrator, NextGen / ANG-E, Aviation Research Division, Airport Technology Research and Development Branch, ANG-E261 Airport Safety R&D Section.
Major duties
The Airport Technology Research and Development Branch (ATR) supports the FAA's mission by conducting the necessary research and development required to enhance the safety of operations at our nation's airports and to ensure the adequacy of engineering specifications and standards in all areas of the airport systems and, where necessary, develop data to support new standards. ATR's research program areas are highly visible and have a huge impact on the National Airspace System (NAS). The incumbent(s), as a General Engineer, will support/manage airport safety related R&D activities. Serves as a General Engineer within the Airport Technology Research and Development (ATR) Branch, Airport Safety Research and Development Section. The Airport Safety Research and Development Section supports the FAA's mission by conducting the necessary research and development required to enhance the safety of operations at our nation's airports and to ensure the adequacy of engineering specifications and standards in all areas of the airport systems and, where necessary, develop data to support new standards. The incumbent will be responsible for conducting and supporting a wide variety of research efforts comprising tests, evaluations, and studies that support an efficient, productive, and cost-effective National Airspace System (NAS). These efforts will include activities related to aircraft rescue and firefighting, airport visual guidance, sensors technologies, unmanned aircraft systems on airports, autonomous vehicles, and advanced air mobility technology, but may also include other airport safety-related subjects such as airport design, planning, runway safety, engineered material arresting systems, aircraft braking and wildlife hazard mitigation. The incumbent will develop and implement independent and interdependent studies to resolve issues and/or identify problems. The incumbent will provide project management of research activities from inception to completion including evaluation of state-of-the-art technology, and emerging concepts, both internal and external to the FAA. The incumbent will plan, develop, and monitor budgetary and other resources. The incumbent will actively engage and work with internal FAA research sponsors and external stakeholders to define research requirements, propose alternatives, and coordinate solutions. The incumbent will operate and resolve all but the most unique technical problems under the limited direction of a manager, project/ program manager, team leader, or more experienced professional. The incumbent will develop and recommend approaches to address current and anticipated problems and issues. The incumbent will work with management and/or more experienced professionals to solve problems that are beyond his/her expertise. Typical assignments may include: providing guidance to other professionals; leading small project/program teams; designing and recommending solutions to complex problems; preparing and reviewing management reports and/or contractual documents; and developing and recommending improvements to systems and/or processes to improve operational efficiency. The incumbent will represent the Airport Safety Research Section, ANG-E261, at various seminars, committees, user group panels, and conference meetings at intra-agency, inter-agency, aviation industry, and national levels. Performs multiple, varying, and complex assignments and plans the implementation of projects/programs under limited direction of a manager, project/program manager, or more experienced engineer. May act as a contributing specialist on large work activities or as a team leader for single or small work activities. Defines, plans, and organizes assigned resources to accomplish organizational objectives. Allocates resources to accomplish small work activities within established schedules.
What you need to qualify
To view the complete OPM qualification standard for the Group Coverage Qualification Standard for General Engineer, Series 801, please refer to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/general-engineering-series-0801/ BASIC REQUIREMENTS: A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: 1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. 2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. 4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.) To qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to FV-H, FG/GS 10-12. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: Experience leading airport safety-related technical projects in the aviation industry, demonstrating proficiency across the full project management lifecycle, including planning, budgeting, resource management, execution, implementation, and performance reporting. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement. The selecting official may decide to interview all, some or none of the candidates referred for consideration.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.